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THE WAY IT WAS

John French displays 1902 version of St. Louis motor car

Dr. Walter Hood demonstrates his new vehicle, assembled in a local garage by two Ocalans in 1906. The scene is on Fort King Street, in front of the original First Presbyterian Church.

File photo

By David CookColumnist

Published: Saturday, July 20, 2013 at 6:30 a.m.

Last Modified: Friday, July 19, 2013 at 12:55 p.m.

Reports that Ocala did not see examples of the newly invented horseless carriage until about 1906 apparently were based on faulty memories of old-time residents, and over the years these memories have been accepted as fact.

A letter to the editor in the Jan. 16, 1903, edition of the Ocala Weekly Star indicates a brand-new motor car was in Ocala at that time.

The letter is concerned mostly with the lack of good roads in Georgia and Florida at the time, and endorses the “good roads” movement in Marion County.

The letter was from John L. French, who listed his address as Ocala.

He said he recently completed a trip from St. Louis to Ocala in an automobile. He doesn't call it a horseless carriage or a motorized buggy, as we are inclined to do today. It's an “automobile.”

His vehicle was made by the St. Louis Motor Carriage Co. and was driven by an eight horsepower gasoline engine. It weighed 1,500 pounds.

“On good roads it will run from 25 to 30 miles per hour on one gallon of gasoline, at a speed from 18 to 30 miles per hour, with two passengers up,” French wrote.

Soaring gasoline costs

On the sand roads he encountered in Georgia and Florida, he couldn't travel any faster than 8 mph, with his vehicle guzzling gasoline at the rate of 10 miles to the gallon. At that rate, the cost soared.

“People simply do not know what a tremendous drawback these poor roads are to themselves and to the country,” French wrote.

His adventure began when he left St. Louis in his new vehicle. He traveled by way of Golconda, Ill.; Hopkinsville, Ky.; Nashville, Tracy City and Chattanooga, Tenn.; Rome, Atlanta, Macon and Valdosta, Ga.; and, in Florida, through Jasper, Lake City and Gainesville to Ocala.

After leaving Macon, French said he had seen nothing but sand trails.

“In fact, we have seen no roads, as such, until a few miles out of Ocala,” he said.

This was a slam against Marion County commissioners, who were taking pride in a new, improved road from Ocala to Reddick.

No editorial response

French did not go into a lot of detail about the hardships of his trip. There were no routes as today to guide the traveler. There were twists and turns getting through towns, since existing streets were used. Even in Ocala, someone traveling south had to turn on Main Street to Fort King Street, then on Orange Avenue, then south to other possible diversions.

Signs to guide the traveler would come much later in answer to public demand.

The reader of those old newspapers from 1903 looks in vain for some editorial response to French's letter. But there apparently was none, unless it was in one of those yellowed issues no longer readable. What was the reaction to French's letter? We don't know.

How many automobiles were in Ocala in 1903? Was French the only Ocalan with one? That seems doubtful, despite those old-timers who clearly remembered seeing the first auto in 1906.

First demonstration

Surely Ed Carmichael, who was to become a major auto enthusiast in Ocala and could afford anything he wanted, already had something like the St. Louis car on order. But that seems not to be the case.

Perhaps the old-timers were remembering the first locally assembled horseless carriage to be demonstrated in Ocala. That was 1906. It was built at what had been Ocala Wagon Works, which had been relocated to a new site on North Magnolia Avenue.

The auto was built by Harry Meadows, a transplanted Englishman who was a blacksmith and expert wagon mechanic. He was assisted by John H. Spenser, who later went into new car sales at a location behind the Ocala House Hotel, facing Silver Springs Boulevard.

They assembled the auto from existing parts, using a bicycle chain attached to a marine motor to turn the rear wheels, which had been made originally for a buggy. Amazingly, it worked.

The vehicle was made for Dr. Walter Hood to use on his medical rounds. It is said to have attracted a great deal of attention traveling Ocala streets. Some people complained that Hood's contraption scared the horses and thereby was a threat to public safety.

We don't know the outcome of these complaints. It was quite awhile before the City Council adopted rules and regulations governing the use of autos on city streets.

The ‘Mogul’

Hood drove his vehicle for several years before he acquired something more modern, with an upfront motor, complete with a radiator and headlights. The wheels were no longer buggy wheels, but something specially made with a hard rubber covering touching the ground. However, there was a buggy top to protect him from the weather. This car was called the “Mogul.”

Photos of Hood behind the wheel (a conventional steering wheel) are often mistaken for the earlier, more primitive Meadows car. That 1906 car was disassembled after the doctor acquired something more reliable. It should have been preserved as a museum piece.

It is said that Hood drove the “Mogul” until about 1912. By then, much more sophisticated autos were available through local auto dealers, and Meadows’ wagon repair shop on Magnolia Avenue had become a garage.

An avid Marion County historian, David Cook is a retired editor of the Star-Banner. He may be contacted at 237-2535.

<p>Reports that Ocala did not see examples of the newly invented horseless carriage until about 1906 apparently were based on faulty memories of old-time residents, and over the years these memories have been accepted as fact.</p><p>A letter to the editor in the Jan. 16, 1903, edition of the Ocala Weekly Star indicates a brand-new motor car was in Ocala at that time.</p><p>The letter is concerned mostly with the lack of good roads in Georgia and Florida at the time, and endorses the “good roads” movement in Marion County.</p><p>The letter was from John L. French, who listed his address as Ocala.</p><p>He said he recently completed a trip from St. Louis to Ocala in an automobile. He doesn't call it a horseless carriage or a motorized buggy, as we are inclined to do today. It's an “automobile.”</p><p>His vehicle was made by the St. Louis Motor Carriage Co. and was driven by an eight horsepower gasoline engine. It weighed 1,500 pounds. </p><p>“On good roads it will run from 25 to 30 miles per hour on one gallon of gasoline, at a speed from 18 to 30 miles per hour, with two passengers up,” French wrote.</p><h3>Soaring gasoline costs</h3>
<p>On the sand roads he encountered in Georgia and Florida, he couldn't travel any faster than 8 mph, with his vehicle guzzling gasoline at the rate of 10 miles to the gallon. At that rate, the cost soared. </p><p>“People simply do not know what a tremendous drawback these poor roads are to themselves and to the country,” French wrote.</p><p>His adventure began when he left St. Louis in his new vehicle. He traveled by way of Golconda, Ill.; Hopkinsville, Ky.; Nashville, Tracy City and Chattanooga, Tenn.; Rome, Atlanta, Macon and Valdosta, Ga.; and, in Florida, through Jasper, Lake City and Gainesville to Ocala.</p><p>After leaving Macon, French said he had seen nothing but sand trails. </p><p>“In fact, we have seen no roads, as such, until a few miles out of Ocala,” he said. </p><p>This was a slam against Marion County commissioners, who were taking pride in a new, improved road from Ocala to Reddick.</p><h3>No editorial response</h3>
<p>French did not go into a lot of detail about the hardships of his trip. There were no routes as today to guide the traveler. There were twists and turns getting through towns, since existing streets were used. Even in Ocala, someone traveling south had to turn on Main Street to Fort King Street, then on Orange Avenue, then south to other possible diversions.</p><p>Signs to guide the traveler would come much later in answer to public demand.</p><p>The reader of those old newspapers from 1903 looks in vain for some editorial response to French's letter. But there apparently was none, unless it was in one of those yellowed issues no longer readable. What was the reaction to French's letter? We don't know.</p><p>How many automobiles were in Ocala in 1903? Was French the only Ocalan with one? That seems doubtful, despite those old-timers who clearly remembered seeing the first auto in 1906.</p><h3>First demonstration</h3>
<p>Surely Ed Carmichael, who was to become a major auto enthusiast in Ocala and could afford anything he wanted, already had something like the St. Louis car on order. But that seems not to be the case.</p><p>Perhaps the old-timers were remembering the first locally assembled horseless carriage to be demonstrated in Ocala. That was 1906. It was built at what had been Ocala Wagon Works, which had been relocated to a new site on North Magnolia Avenue.</p><p>The auto was built by Harry Meadows, a transplanted Englishman who was a blacksmith and expert wagon mechanic. He was assisted by John H. Spenser, who later went into new car sales at a location behind the Ocala House Hotel, facing Silver Springs Boulevard.</p><p>They assembled the auto from existing parts, using a bicycle chain attached to a marine motor to turn the rear wheels, which had been made originally for a buggy. Amazingly, it worked.</p><p>The vehicle was made for Dr. Walter Hood to use on his medical rounds. It is said to have attracted a great deal of attention traveling Ocala streets. Some people complained that Hood's contraption scared the horses and thereby was a threat to public safety.</p><p>We don't know the outcome of these complaints. It was quite awhile before the City Council adopted rules and regulations governing the use of autos on city streets.</p><h3>The 'Mogul'</h3>
<p>Hood drove his vehicle for several years before he acquired something more modern, with an upfront motor, complete with a radiator and headlights. The wheels were no longer buggy wheels, but something specially made with a hard rubber covering touching the ground. However, there was a buggy top to protect him from the weather. This car was called the “Mogul.”</p><p>Photos of Hood behind the wheel (a conventional steering wheel) are often mistaken for the earlier, more primitive Meadows car. That 1906 car was disassembled after the doctor acquired something more reliable. It should have been preserved as a museum piece.</p><p>It is said that Hood drove the “Mogul” until about 1912. By then, much more sophisticated autos were available through local auto dealers, and Meadows' wagon repair shop on Magnolia Avenue had become a garage.</p><p><i>An avid Marion County historian, David Cook is a retired editor of the Star-Banner. He may be contacted at 237-2535.</i></p>